→Crime is not a result of supernatural forces, but just ordinary behaviour that is harmful to

individuals and society

→Social Contract

oThere must be a government to enforce laws

oEveryone must give up a little freedom in order to live together in a society, but people

have certain rights that the government must respect

oWithout laws, life it “solitary, nasty, brutish and short”

→Unrestrained torture and the execution of criminals is questioned

The Classical View

→Often considered the first formal theory in criminology

→Humans are rational and behaviour is due to free will and rational choice

oIncreasing pleasure and decreasing pain

→Basic inherent rights, some of which are “wrong”

→Punishment is important as it serves as a example to others who are considering committing

crime

→Crime reduces social bonds between members of a society

→Innocent until proven guilty

The Neoclassical View

→Same as classical, but more emphasize on the sentencing issues

→Criminals should be punished because:

oThe cost of crime overwrites the rewards for criminals

oSend a message to the general population and they are “scared-away” of crime

Crime Statistics

→Comparative Statistics: crime is not just because of free will and rational choice, it is caused by

many social and economic factors as well

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Crim Midterm Notes

oBy comparing the statistics on crime the factors can be identified:

Possible causes

Technique

Early Positivism

→Scientific techniques to study crimes and criminals

→Crime has biologically/evolutionary roots and criminals are physically different from non-

criminals

→“Born a criminal” was popular at this time because of the biological emphasis

→Theory of Atavism (Lombroso): criminals are psychological throwbacks from earlier stages of

human development

oSince many criminals didn’t fit the theory, he proposed there’s different types of

criminals

ie. insane criminals, criminals of “passion”, occasional criminals

oAtavism was a revolutionary theory at the time, but did not last the test of time as there

was many flaws in the methods and theory

Cherry picking the evidence, pre-selected samples

Crime

Definition

Strengths

Limitations

Legal

-Behaviour forbidden

by the law and

subjected to a

sanction

-Definition is simple and

technically accurate

-Not informative about the

historical/philosophical/sociological

justifications of why things are

crimes

Also consider:

→No crime when an illegal behaviour is justified by law

oYou have the right to defend yourself from mortal dangers

oVigilantism is not justified

→No crime without criminal intent

oAccident wrongdoing

oNegligence can be criminal

→No crime without capacity

oBeing forced to commit a crime

oIgnorance of the law is not acceptable as a defence

Consensus

-Behaviour that

violates the basic

values, beliefs and

social needs of a

society

- Adequate for many

crimes, especially serious

ones

-Very different societies

can agree that these

behaviours are harmful

and unacceptable-

-Significant disagreement between

individuals and society regarding

values, beliefs and social needs

-Some behaviours are seen as

crimes by some people and not

others

Libertarian

-An act of force or

fraud against the will

of someone else

-Includes most

behaviours that are

unacceptable and harmful

-Does not include why some

behaviours not related to the

definition are crimes

-Some forms of “fraud or force” are

not considered criminal

Conflict

-The label given to

some behaviour by

people in power to

enforce their interests

over the less powerfull

-Useful to understand the

arbitrary nature of some

laws, and the absence of

others

-Many crimes have nothing to do

with the interests of the powerful

-Many people from both spectrums

agree with labeling certain

behaviours as crimes

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Document Summary

Basic idea of what is right and wrong (ie. basic morality) Traditions, mores and folkways taught acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Evidence of laws in some societies, but overlapped with religion: 10 commandments (judaism & christianity, the code of hammurabi. Laws and punishments were displayed on a rock in the middle of babylon. Believed good and evil were supernatural forces and that they played a role in the lives of humans: alexander the great the third beast & the two horned one who will revenge the. Earth with satan: attila the hun scourge of god . Revenge is okay in an eye for an eye matter. Crime was considered a sin you made the conscious decision to sin against god and you will live an immoral life. Laws protect the bureaucracy/aristocracy and not the peasants. Appearance of common law: tradition of unwritten legal precedents used as guidelines in the administrative of justice.